Happy Hanukkah, Jewesses! If you’re one of the lucky girls out there who still gets a sick present for every one of the 8 (crazy) nights, kudos to you. Bitch. If you’re like us here at CollegeCandy, you get a Starbucks gift card from your grandpa for $18 and a “what? I don’t do enough for you all year?” guilt trip from your mom.

If you fall into the latter category, don’t fret; CollegeCandy’s got your back. We’re bringing you the 8 Hotties of Hanukkah, one for each glorious latke-eating day. Because at the end of the day, as your Hanukkah candles are burning low and dripping wax all over your desk, unwrapping a Kindle is cool, but flipping through pictures of Jake Gyllenhaal’s six-pack is H.O.T.

That, my friends, is the gift that keeps on giving.

How can you celebrate the festival of lights without the brightest (or sexiest) light of them all, Drake? Do you remember when this Canadian cutie was cruising around in a wheelchair on Degrassi: The Next Generation? He’s come such a long way! (Literally, Canada is real far.) Between his secretive and saucy side relationship with Rihanna and his amazing rapping talent, this beauty keeps surprising us.

Let’s just hope he surprises us next year with a hot, hot Hanukkah album. Read More »

If there’s one thing I love more than gorging myself on turkey (and stuffing, and cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie… mmm… wait, what was I talking about again?), it’s loafing on the living room couch before and after Thanksgiving dinner and taking in some fine Thanksgiving television.

Holiday-themed episodes of TV shows usually follow a predictable pattern—the gang is planning some kind of celebration until everything goes horribly awry. But by the end of the show, problems have been solved, fights have ended, and everyone sits down together to enjoy a nice meal and/or some serious present opening, accompanied by a well-known holiday tune.

While most Thanksgiving episodes still adhere to the formula, there’s something about them that makes them even more satisfying than Christmas/Hanukkah/Valentine’s Day specials. Maybe it’s because they tend to be less cheesy than other holiday shows. Maybe it’s because I just like watching people enjoy a hearty meal. Whatever the reason, Thanksgiving episodes deserve some appreciation.

So, without further ado, here’s my list of the best Thanksgiving episodes. They’re all funny, entertaining, and heartwarming without being cloying—yes, even that episode of South Park.

[Click on any image to view the gallery]

The big tragedy of moving back into my apartment today was realizing that since I decided to save money by nixing the cable TV, I could not watch the Emmy Red Carpet show. It was traumatic. Watching the stars arrive and chat with Ryan Seacrest, Giuliana Rancic and the other annoying people they usually bring in is the highlight of my night and way more exciting than watching people ramble off a list of thank yous before they are kindly escorted off the stage.

Though, to be fair, Jimmy Fallon did have some really good moments.

Anyways, thank god for the Internet, right? I spent the evening scouring the World Wide Web to find out what all my favorite TV stars were wearing to the big event. And, much like Modern Family’s “Best Comedy Series” win, I wasn’t surprised to see a lot of good, a lot of bad and some major WTF. Read More »

Make those thrift clothes look couture.

Robert Pattinson gets bit by a lion?

Sneak peak of ‘Degrassi’ season 10!

Justin Bieber is officially a superhero.

9 sneaky ways to tell him you like him.

Did you smudge your mani? Fix it in seconds!

Britney Spears- Circus:

“There’s only two types of people in the world. The ones that entertain, and the ones that observe.”

So opens the title track on Britney Spears’ latest CD, Circus. Britney is clearly in the first category. And this is the album we’ve all been waiting for. The one that marks the start of her comeback. Wait, wasn’t her last album supposed to be her comeback? Well, forget about that because this time it’s for real. If you happened to take an hour out of your life to watch to her MTV documentary on Sunday night, you’d probably say she appears to be back on track. Then again, we’ve seen that before. But if Circus is any indication of Britney’s well-being, it’s safe to say the girl is back on her game.

Songs like “Circus” and “Kill the Lights” chronicle the tough times Britney’s had being in the public eye, but they’re not downers in the least bit. She even squeezes in a song about motherhood (wait, remember she’s a mom?) right at the end called “My Baby.” Let’s just hope she actually remembers that she has two babies. Circus is also loaded with songs I can see myself getting down to in the basement of my favorite bar. Clearly I’ve already done so with “Womanizer,” but “Leather and Lace” and “Mmm Papi” also have highly danceable beats.

Mr. Photographer? I think Britney’s finally ready for her close-up. Read More »

Women’s social issues have been treated in programs geared towards teens for ages. Remember when DJ Tanner went on a crash diet so she could look good in a bathing suit, and then passed out on a stairclimber?

On Saved by the Bell, Elizabeth Berkley gained pre-Showgirls notoriety, for the famous Jessie Spano Caffeine Pill Breakdown (I’m so excited! I’m so scared!). Of course, Full House and SBTB were heart-warming sitcoms, where everyone learns their lesson in the end, and move away from their self-destructive behavior, never to mention anorexia, bullimia, or drug abuse ever again.

The breakout Canadian teen sensation, Degrassi, which airs in the US on The N network, covers a variety of teen issues, without the cavity-inducing sugary sweetness of the stuff we grew up on. Among the kids who dabble in drugs, alcohol, eating disorders, and bi-polar disorder, Degrassi introduced the world to Ellie Nash, who is a cutter.

I’m too old for Degrassi, but I don’t care. I’m pretty much obsessed with it. The best part about the show is that it doesn’t sweep the issues under the rug at the end of each 22-minute episode. And because the writers have the balls to “Go There.” I mean, come on: we all know the caffeine-pill incident was a stand-in for a harder drug, like speed or something, but hard drugs don’t exist at Bayside High.

I remember when the cutting craze swept my middle school. I have no idea who started it, or why it caught on, but at my school, cutting was the iPhone of the late 90′s. Read More »

I have a special place in my heart for terrible teen television. The O.C., Degrassi, Instant Star, South of Nowhere, Dawson’s Creek: I just can’t get enough of it. The cheesy acting, the terrible love dramas, the catty bitch fights. I LOVE IT.

Which is why I am pumped for my newest terrible teen television drama Gossip Girl. Being an angsty teen is hard enough but when you’re rich, pretty and living on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, life is so bad it’s good. I’m pretty sure I watched the trailer five times because I was THAT excited.

There have been reviews. The New York Times profiled the show while five real UES Manhattan girls watched the first episode. And a few have even written that Gossip Girl is nothing to gossip about. But this is no Arrested Development, people. This is bad television.

The acting is sub par and the plotline monotonous (teens drinking and doing it… not anything new), but this time instead of sunny California it’s New York City.

And a location change is enough for me to be interested. It’s new! It’s fresh! It’s probably awful and I love it. Read More »